The Democratic Party had run the House for all but four of the preceding 62 years. With help from the Harry and Louise television ads, the Republican party was able to unite the majority of Americans against President Clinton's proposed healthcare reform.[1] Capitalizing on the negative perception Clinton received because of this push, the Republicans alleged Clinton had abandoned the New Democrat platform he campaigned on during the 1992 Presidential election and united behind Newt Gingrich's Contract with America,[2] which promoted immediate action on institutional reform and the decentralization of federal authority.[3]

In a historic election, House SpeakerTom Foley (D-Washington) was defeated for re-election in his district, becoming the first Speaker of the House to fail to win re-election since Galusha Grow (R-Pennsylvania) during the Civil War era.[4] Other major upsets included the defeat of powerful long-serving Representatives such as Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Illinois) and Judiciary Chairman Jack Brooks (D-Texas). In all, 34 incumbents (all Democrats) were defeated, though a few of them (like David Price of North Carolina and Ted Strickland of Ohio) regained seats in later elections; Maria Cantwell of Washington won a U.S. Senate race in 2000. Republicans also won some seats that were left open by retiring Democrats. Democrats won four Republican-held seats where the incumbents were stepping down (Maine, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island). Democrats who were elected in this situation included Rhode Island congressman and Kennedy family member Patrick J. Kennedy and former Maine governor John Baldacci. No Republican incumbent lost his or her seat in 1994.

Evangelicals were an important group within the electorate and a significant voting block in the Republican party. The national exit poll by Mitofsky International showed 27% of all voters identified themselves as a born-again or evangelical Christians, up from 18% in 1988 and 24% in 1992. Republican House candidates outpolled Democrats among white evangelicals by a massive 52 points, 76% to 24%.[6]

According to a survey sponsored by the Christian Coalition, 33 percent of the 1994 voters were "religious conservatives," up from 24 percent in 1992 and 18 percent in 1988 (CQ Weekly Report), November 19, 1994, p. 3364; in the 1994 exit poll, 38 percent identified themselves as "conservatives," compared with 30 percent in 1992.[7]

SpeakerTom Foley (WA-5, elected in 1964) - one of the most historic defeats in congressional history; Foley had not only represented the Spokane area for thirty years, but was Speaker of the House, one of the most powerful men in D.C., so his defeat was symbolic[citation needed] of the entire 1994 election. (This was the first time since 1862 that a sitting Speaker was defeated in a re-election bid.)